The addition of Blue Mountain, Pottsville and Gov. Mifflin to the Inter-County League eight years ago transformed football in Berks County.

The marriage of the Schuylkill League's two largest schools, along with one from Section 1 of the Lancaster-Lebanon League, bolstered a once-sleepy, small-school league, helping it become a football hotbed.

That marriage started to show signs of stress several years ago when Blue Mountain requested an open league date in Week 10 so that it could continue its rivalry game with Schuylkill Haven, one of its biggest gates of the year.

That request was not granted, and it became a point of contention.

The Schuylkill County schools also have grumbled privately about how poorly Berks fans travel to support their football teams on the road. Some Berks schools don't send their bands up Route 61 on a Friday night, further cutting revenues. That's become a key point in these financially stressed times.

Blue Mountain did itself no favors, from a public relations standpoint, when it opted to move to Section 2 when new enrollment figures were released for the 2010-11 cycle. Many people around the league felt it belonged in Section 1, with Pottsville, Mifflin and Muhlenberg.

Blue Mountain fans found the fit with Berks uncomfortable. They enjoyed their established rivalries with Schuylkill Haven, Tamaqua, North Schuylkill and other county rivals.

"There's not always that same energy across the stadium when we play other schools in the Berks League," said Eagles coach Mike Brennan. "They don't know them as well; they don't have that same relationship. We didn't grow up with them; we don't have those roots."

The strained relationship between Blue Mountain and the Berks Football League officially became a divorce Thursday night when the school board accepted an invitation to join the Anthracite Football League.

Blue Mountain will remain in Section 2 of the Berks Football League for two more seasons, then join the AFL in 2014.

What the move does for Blue Mountain's program, football-wise, remains to be seen. It will be the largest school in the league and could dominate. The AFL will be composed of mostly Single-A and Double-A schools, which could hurt the Eagles' chances of consistently making the District 11-AAA playoffs.

Blue Mountain's exit will leave the Berks Football League considerably weakened, and in need of realignment - if not expansion.

Section 2 will be down to just six teams, meaning a school from Section 1 will likely be shifted.

Based on enrollment that could be Conrad Weiser or Twin Valley. It would make football sense to send Twin Valley to Section 2; it never has been able to compete with the big boys in Section 1.

In the meantime the BFL will look outwards, hoping to add another school or two. That would seem like a difficult prospect, especially in these times where school districts are looking to cut travel budgets, not expand them.

There is always the chance that another football program could be born in Berks. Oley Valley has talked about the prospect in recent years and it is now in a co-op with Fleetwood. It's probably best for Berks football to keep that arrangement in place; the last thing the league needs is another weak program. That's not good for anyone.

The good news for Berks football is that Pottsville remains steadfast in its desire to be part of the league. Despite its close ties with Blue Mountain, it intends to remain part of Berks football.

"The Berks League has been very good for us, and I think we've been good for the league," said Pottsville athletic director Eric Rismiller.

Crimson Tide coach Kevin Keating always has relished the association with programs such as Mifflin, Daniel Boone, Conrad Weiser and Muhlenberg and does not want to see it end.

"It's great football," he said. "You face high quality teams and outstanding coaches week in and week out. I just don't see us playing for two state championships (in 2005 and 2006) if we're not in the Berks League. It just doesn't happen. The league has been fantastic to us. It's meant a great deal to our program."